Meet Martha

This is Martha at about age 6. In spite of appearances, she was a happy child.

Martha Freeman was born in Southern California in the days when dinosaurs were still a threat. At least that's what her three grown children will tell you.

After graduating from Stanford University, Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter and magazine writer before finding her true calling as a writer of children's books. She has since written 23 books for children.

Ordinarily, Martha does not condone putting your shoes on the furniture.

In 1995, Martha's family moved from Sonora, California, to State College, Pennsylvania. Martha's book, The Year My Parents Ruined My Life, is loosely based on this move. In fact, Martha’s books are often inspired by her family.

You can see how hosting many many Thanksgiving dinners for large groups affected her writing if you read her Thanksgivig mystery, Who Stole Grandma's Million-Dollar Pumpkin Pie?, which is part of the Chickadee Court series, featuring Alex, Yasmeen and Luau, the ace detective cat.

Pets – especially cats – have always been important to Martha. That's why almost every single one of her books has a cat as a character, and her First Kids mysteries feature a first dog with too much energy, Hooligan.

Martha currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she enjoys writing, running, making pies, entertaining guests, walking her neighbors' dog, Franklin, and picking up litter.